Estyleen’s Hershey Syrup Brownies

Growing up in the 80s, there are certain recipes that stand out in my memory. Coca-Cola cake, seven layer dip, strawberry Jello pretzel salad, and Hershey syrup brownies.

In fact, Hershey syrup brownies were one of the few recipes that my maternal grandmother liked to make, so I always associate them with her. They’re cakey, fudgy, moist, and dense; and they’re topped with a fudge-like frosting. Maybe it would be best to described them as a fudgier version of Texas sheet cake.

It’s taken me awhile to post this recipe, because like a lot of old (hand-me-down) recipes, there wasn’t much in the way of instructions. And I kept running into the issue of grainy frosting. I’ve seen others post a similar recipe, and their frosting is also grainy. Perhaps that’s part of the allure of this particular brownie recipe, but my family isn’t crazy about the grainy frosting. If you follow the directions listed below, your brownies shouldn’t have a grainy frosting either.

I’ve discovered that it’s best to bake the brownie first, and then work on the frosting, because it sets up immediately, with hardly any time to spread it. So be sure to work fast.

You may also notice that there isn’t any leavening agent (baking soda or baking powder) in this recipe, and that was by design.

I hope you love these as much as we do!

P.S. Below is a homemade Hershey syrup recipe in case you don’t keep it in stock regularly at your house. This syrup recipe makes a little over 2 cups of syrup, I use the extra to mix up a small glass of chocolate milk.

Hershey Syrup Brownies Adapted from Estyleen’s recipe

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened

1 cup of sugar

1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

3 eggs

2 cups (16 ounces) Hershey syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9 inch pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, sugar, and salt until creamy. Add in the eggs and beat until combined, and there are few (if any) little clumps of butter. Add in the syrup and vanilla – beat until combined; then add in the flour. Beating just until the flour is completely mixed in. Overmixing will result in tough brownies.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-32 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of the brownies – it should come out clean (or with only a crumb or two) when it’s done.

Take the pan out of the oven and set it aside to cool. Make the frosting.

Fudge Frosting Adapted from Estyleen’s recipe

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup milk

1 Tablespoon corn syrup

1 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 ounces semisweet chocolate (I used Baker’s), broken into 4 pieces

In a medium sized pot, melt the butter, then add in the milk, corn syrup, sugar, and salt. Stir until combined. Wash the any sugar crystals off the sides of the pot with a wet pastry brush. Cook the mixture on medium-low heat. Once the mixture has started to simmer on the edges of the pot, start a timer for 4 minutes. Do not stir during this time.

Once the timer goes off, take the sugar mixture off the heat and add in the chocolate and vanilla, whisk constantly until completely melted and shiny. Immediately pour the frosting onto the hot brownies and spread quickly with a nylon scraper. It will set up immediately.

Let cool completely. Serve once cooled. Cover with plastic wrap and store on the counter for up to 5 days. These do not stack well.

Homemade Hershey Syrup adapted from Allrecipes

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup Hershey’s original cocoa powder

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a 4 quart saucepan, add the water, sugar, cocoa, and salt. Whisk until combined. Cook on medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture begins simmering. Then stop whisking, start a timer for 2 minutes, and let the mixture come of a full boil – it will climb the pot as it’s boiling. Once the timer goes off, take the pot off the heat and whisk in the vanilla. Set aside to cool. Then pour the syrup into a container and refrigerate it (covered) for up to 2 weeks. If you’re using the syrup for the brownies, let it cool to room temperature before using (so it doesn’t melt the butter), or use it cold from the refrigerator.